1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable information apparatus which is foldable, such as portable telephone equipment or personal digital equipment, and in particular to a portable information apparatus equipped with an image capturing device and a visible alert device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been commercially available camera-equipped portable telephones, many of which have a foldable structure because it can be accommodated in compact. With such a trend, various types of camera-equipped portable equipment have been proposed.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2001-186396 discloses a camera-equipped portable information terminal apparatus having a pair of units which are foldable by a hinge mounted with a camera. The camera is directed in a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of the hinge.
The present applicant proposed a foldable portable information terminal having a new hinge structure (see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/259,509). Further, the present applicant proposed a foldable portable information terminal having the above new hinge structure and a camera mounted in the side of a lower unit (Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-036715 filed on Feb. 14, 2002).
On the other hand, a portable telephone is commonly provided with a visible alert device such as a light-emitting diode (LED) for informing a user to call arrival. In the case of a foldable-type portable telephone composed of a upper unit and a lower unit, plural LEDs are provided so as to be seen by a user when closed. Alternatively, a single LED may be provided on one end of the upper unit so as to be seen even if closed. However, such an arrangement does not provide good visibility. Especially, in regard to space-saving and cost-saving, providing plural LEDs is not preferable.